Universal prepaid telecommunication services card, and methods and systems for using same

ABSTRACT

In a relationship in which a universal prepaid telecommunication services card issuer is different than a telecommunication services provider, a method and system for implementing a universal prepaid telecommunication services card (prepaid card), which can be used as a prepaid card for a plurality of services providers providing one or more telecommunication services. The method comprises a card issuer providing a prepaid card having a identification number associated with the prepaid card. Upon receiving a prepaid card activation request from a card seller or distributor, the card issuer activates the prepaid card. After the card is activated, the card issuer can receive a request to use the card from a user. The card issuer then receives from the user the identification number associated with the prepaid card and validates the identification number. Upon validation of the identification number, the card issuer receives from the user a service request for a particular service provider. The card issuer then communicates the service request to the particular service provider.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/488,080 (the “'080 Application”) (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,131,582on Nov. 7, 2006) filed by Welton and entitled “Methods and Systems forFulfilling a Prepaid Telecommunication Services Account,” which claimspriority from PCT/US02/27481 (the “'481 Application”) filed Aug. 26,2002 by Welton and which entered the U.S. national phase on Feb. 24,2004. The '481 Application claims priority from U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/939,519 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,827 on Jun. 24, 2003)filed by Welton on Aug. 24, 2001 and entitled “Universal PrepaidTelecommunication Services Card,” of which the '080 Application is acontinuation-in-part.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a prepaid telecommunicationservices credit, and more particularly to a universal prepaidtelecommunication services credit that can be used for wireless,Internet, local telephone and long distance services for a plurality ofservice providers. The present invention also relates to systems andmethods for implementing and fulfilling the prepaid telecommunicationservices credit.

Prepaid telecommunication services are becoming popular among manypeople, including immigrants, the credit challenged, teens, seniors,etc. Prepaid services for telecommunication products, such as wireless(cellular, PCS, GSM, etc.), Internet, and traditional telephoneservices, such as local and long distance telephone services are beingoffered by many service providers, and typically are provided by issuingprepaid calling or telecommunication cards to customers.

With prepaid telecommunication services currently known in the art, acustomer typically purchases a prepaid calling card for the service, andwhen activated, the service provider credits the customer's account withthe amount of the prepaid card. However, because there are a number ofservice providers, and each of those providers may be offering differentservices and amounts for each of those services, there are a largenumber of prepaid cards on the market. For example, companies likeQwest™, AT&T™, Sprint™, Verizon™, and others all may offer wireless,Internet and traditional telephone prepaid services, and each servicemay be offered with different prepaid amounts ($10, $20, $50, $100,etc.). With such large and diverse product offerings, service providersface difficult production and distribution problems. Moreover, retailersare concerned about carrying products, stock keeping units (“SKU”) oruniform product codes (“UPC”) for each service provider's differentproduct offerings. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, if aretailer carried all the different product offerings, the prepaid cardsprobably would overtake a significant portion of the retailer's shelfspace. Accordingly, retailers are hesitant to carry all the differentproduct offerings from the different service providers, so the serviceproviders are finding it difficult to get significant market penetrationwith their products.

Thus, what is needed is prepaid telecommunication services credit systemand method that allows a single prepaid credit issuer to provide prepaidtelecommunication services for multiple service providers, including amethod and system for automatically fulfilling a customer account with aspecified service provider.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a relationship in which a customer has obtained a prepaid credit fortelecommunication services, including a preconfigured passcode, from auniversal prepaid telecommunication services credit issuer, the issuerbeing a different entity than a telecommunication services provider, thepresent invention provides a method and system for fulfilling a customeraccount with the provider using the prepaid credit, which can be used toobtain prepaid telecommunication services from the provider.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method isprovided, wherein a the issuer receives a communication from a customer,and the customer provides the passcode. Upon validating the passcode,the issuer associates the credit with an identifier and associates theprepaid credit with a particular provider. The credit issuer thenfulfills an account with the particular provider, wherein the account isassociated with the identifier and an amount equal to the credit isadded to the account. In some embodiments, fulfillment is accomplishedby off-line or by host-to-host transaction. In other embodiments, theprovider fulfills the account.

In accordance with one embodiment, the passcode for the prepaid creditis selected from a group consisting of a serial number, a personalidentification number, or a combination of a serial number and a PIN.

In accordance with other embodiments, the prepaid service can bewireless telephone service, long distance telephone services, localtelephone service or Internet service. In one aspect of the invention,the communication from the customer is a telephone call, and theidentifier may be a telephone number. The identifier can be theautomatic number identification obtained by the issuer from thetelephone connection used to contact the issuer; alternatively, theidentifier obtained from the customer can be a mobile identificationnumber or a telephone number different from the automaticidentification. In another aspect, the communication is a networkcommunication.

In some embodiments, a customer database is searched to determinewhether the customer is a repeat customer. If so, a particular providercan be determined from a previous transaction history and the prepaidcredit can be associated with the particular provider. If not, thecustomer database can be updated with a record including the identifier.In one embodiment, a cross-reference database of providers is searchedto find a record comprising the identifier. In another embodiment, theissuer queries at least one provider to find a provider thatacknowledges the identifier. The prepaid credit then is associated withthe provider acknowledging the identifier. The query can be accomplishedvia host-to-host connection to the provider. In certain embodiments, thecustomer is allowed to choose a provider for fulfillment, for instancebe selecting from among a menu of eligible providers.

In other embodiments, the customer is advised of the amount of credit tobe added to the customer account and of when the credit will be added tothe account. In still other embodiments, the issuer confirms the accountfulfillment, for instance by creating a message and sending the messageto the customer. In one embodiment, the message is a short messagingservice message and the issuer transmits the message to a wirelessdevice associated with the identifier.

In accordance with other embodiments, a system is provided. The systemincludes a processing system, a customer database in communication withthe processing system, and a computer-readable medium, wherein thecomputer-readable medium includes instructions executable by theprocessing system to perform the method described above.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a prepaid creditis provided. In one aspect, the prepaid credit is a tangible card.Alternatively, the prepaid credit can be a credit purchased on theInternet.

In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, a method isprovided, whereby a card issuer provides a prepaid card having aidentification number associated with the prepaid card. Upon receiving aprepaid card activation request from a card seller or distributor, thecard issuer activates the prepaid card. After the card is activated, thecard issuer can receive a request to use the card from a user. The cardissuer then receives from the user the identification number associatedwith the prepaid card and validates the identification number. Uponvalidation of the identification number, the card issuer receives fromthe user a service request for a particular service provider. The cardissuer then communicates the service request to the particular serviceprovider.

In accordance with a certain embodiment, the identification number forthe prepaid card comprises a card serial number, a card personalidentification number, or a combination of a serial number and a PIN.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the prepaid cardcomprises a magnetic strip or microchip for storing information, and thestep of the card issuer activating the prepaid card further comprises aPOS terminal reading card information from the magnetic strip or themicrochip, the POS terminal transmitting the card information to thecard issuer, and the card issuer activating the prepaid card based onthe received card information.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the prepaid cardmay have a predefined value assigned to is, or the value can be appliedto the card at the time of purchase.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention a system isprovided for implementing the prepaid card.

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description of preferred embodiments andclaims when considered in connection with the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Figures, similar components and/or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label with a second label thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a picture of one embodiment of a universal prepaidtelecommununication services card;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a network of systems thatcan be used to implement a universal prepaid telecommunication servicescredit in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method forimplementing the universal prepaid telecommunication services card ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a network of systems thatcan be used to fulfill a universal prepaid telecommunication servicescredit in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method forobtaining a provider-specific identifier in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the fulfillment of a universalprepaid telecommunication services credit according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Rather than each service provider issuing separate prepaid calling cardsfor each of its service offerings, the present invention proposes use ofa single prepaid telecommunication services credit (“prepaid credit”),which can be used to replenish telecommunication service accounts fromany number of carriers or providers. In some embodiments, the prepaidcredit comprises a prepaid telecommunications services card 100(“prepaid card 100”), as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, a retailer needs tostock only one card, rather than separate cards for each carrier andservice offering. In one embodiment of the present invention, the valueof the prepaid credit may be assigned at the time of sale. In accordancewith another embodiment of the invention, the value of the prepaidcredit is fixed and may be printed on prepaid card 100. In theembodiment in which the value of prepaid credit is fixed, the retailermay stock one set of cards for each value denomination.

Referring now to FIG. 2, one embodiment of a system and network 200 forimplementing a prepaid credit in accordance with the present inventionis illustrated. For ease of description, the prepaid credit in thedescribed embodiment comprises prepaid card 100; however, as describedin detail below, the prepaid credit can also take a variety of otherforms. In the illustrated embodiment, system 200 comprises a prepaidtelecommunications credit issuer 202 (“issuer 202” or “card issuer202”), a telecommunication services provider 204 (“provider 204” or“service provider 204”), a card retailer 206, and a customer 208.

In one embodiment, issuer 202 is an entity responsible for printing,distributing and implementing prepaid cards 100. Issuer 202 comprises anissuer processing system 210 for validating and processing prepaid cards100. Issuer processing system 210 may comprise any suitable processingsystem, such as a personal computer, a computer server, a mainframe orminicomputer system, or the like. In addition, issuer processing system210 may comprise an interactive voice response (IVR) unit for processingtelephone calls and/or modems, hubs, routers, switches or othernetworking hardware for receiving data from card retailers 206 and/orcustomers 208. Associated with issuer processing system 210 may be aprepaid card database 212, and a service provider ID database 214. Asdiscussed in more detail below, prepaid card database 212 and serviceprovider ID database 214 are used in the validation and implementationprocess for prepaid credits.

Provider 204 may be any service provider that provides telecommunicationservices, such as wireless service, Internet service, local telephoneservice, long distance telephone service, or any other telecommunicationservices that may be provided in a prepaid manner. In one embodiment,provider 204 works with issuer 202 to provide prepaid telecommunicationsservices. As discussed in more detail below, issuer 202 issues prepaidcredits (for example, prepaid cards 100), and when prepaid credits areactivated, communicates with provider 204, so that a customer'stelecommunication service account is fulfilled. As used herein, the term“fulfill” means any transaction whereby a prepaid telecommunicationsservice account is credited in an amount equal to a prepaid credit.Provider 204 comprises a provider processing system 216 forcommunicating with issuer 202 and for processing prepaid creditservices. Like with issuer processing system 210, provider processingsystem 216 may comprise any suitable processing system and may includecommunications equipment for communicating with issuer 202, such as IVRsystems, modems, hubs, routers, switches, etc. Provider 204 also mayinclude a service provider identification database 218 and a customeraccount database 220, for processing prepaid telecommunication servicesrequests.

Card retailer 206 may be any entity that sells or distributes prepaidcredits to customers 208. In some embodiments, as discussed in moredetail below, when a customer purchases a prepaid card 100 from theretailer, the retailer activates the card using a point-of-sale (POS)terminal 222, a telephone 224, or some other communication means (e.g.,wireless phone, computer terminal, etc.). As illustrated in FIG. 2, POSterminal 222 and telephone 224 are configured to communicate with issuerprocessing system 210 at issuer 202.

Customer 208 may be any individual or entity that purchases or otherwiseobtains a prepaid credit. In one embodiment, after customer 208purchases a prepaid credit, customer 208 communicates with issuer 202 toactivate the credit for a particular telecommunication service accountof customer 208 and to fulfill the account. As discussed in more detailbelow, this typically requires customer 208 to provide a serial numberand/or a PIN associated with the prepaid credit, as well as customeraccount information, to issuer 202, and more particularly to issuerprocessing system 210. To communicate information to issuer processingsystem 210, customer 208 may use any suitable communication device, suchas a computer 226, a telephone 228, a cell phone 230, a personal digitalassistant (“PDA”) 232, or the like. For example, customer 208 may usetelephone 228 or cell phone 208 to contact issuer 202, and in particularissuer processing system 210, via a telephone call, or alternatively,customer 208 may use computer 226, cell phone 230 or PDA 232 to transmita network communication to issuer processing system 210. As used in thisdocument, the term “network communication” means any suitable means ofelectronic communication known to those skilled in the art, includingfor example, direct wired communication, wireless communication, andcommunication over the Internet (for example, electronic mail), via theWorld Wide Web, or through any other computer or telecommunicationnetwork (for example, a local area network, a wide area network, avirtual private network or the public switched telephone network).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow chart 300 illustrating one embodiment ofa method for implementing prepaid card 100 is shown. Other embodimentsimplement similar methods with other forms of prepaid credits describedin detail below. In implementing prepaid telecommunication servicescards 100, the cards typically are sold or distributed to customers 208by retailers 206, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, gasstations, or other retail outlets. Upon the sale of a prepaid card 100,retailer 206 typically activates prepaid card 100 with card issuer 202.In one embodiment of the invention, each prepaid card 100 has a uniqueidentification or serial number and a PIN assigned to it by card issuer210. The serial number and PIN for each card are stored at card issuer202, for example in card database 212. To activate a prepaid card 100,card retailer 206 communicates the card serial number (and perhaps PIN)to issuer processing system 210 at card issuer 202, informing issuerprocessing system 210 that prepaid card 100 was legitimately sold to acustomer (block 302).

In one embodiment, card retailer 206 activates a prepaid card using aPOS terminal 222 at the retailer location. For example, prepaid card 100may include a magnetic strip, bar code or microchip, which stores cardinformation, such as card serial number, PIN number, monetary value ofthe prepaid card, etc. In this embodiment, POS terminal 222 isconfigured to read the relevant information from the magnetic strip, barcode or microchip on the card and transmit that information over acommunication link to issuer processing system 210 and database 212. Asone skilled in the art will appreciate, the communication link betweenPOS terminal 222 and issuer processing system 210 may be any suitablecommunication link, such as a telephone line, a direct data connection,a wireless or satellite connection, or the like.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, prepaid card 100 may nothave a specific monetary denomination associated with it. In thisembodiment, a customer pays card retailer 206 a monetary amount, andretailer 206 assigns that amount to the card. In one embodiment, toassign an amount to the card, retailer 206 has a POS terminal 222 thatwrites the amount on the magnetic strip or microchip of the card and/orcommunicates that amount to issuer processing system 210 and database212 using the communication link (block 304). In another embodiment, POSterminal 222 merely communicates the amount to issuer processing system210, but does not write the amount on the card (alternative block 304).The particular procedure used is not important so long as the customerreceives the appropriate credit for which he paid.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, some retail locations may nothave POS terminals 222. Thus, in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention, retailer 206 communicates card information to issuerprocessing system 210 and database 212 using a computer terminal ortelephone. In the case where a telephone is used, issuer processingsystem 210 may include an interactive voice response (“IVR”) unit orvoice recognition unit, which automatically receives the necessaryinformation from the retailer's voice or DTMF responses from thetelephone.

When a customer 208 wishes to use prepaid card 100, customer 208contacts card issuer 202, and more particularly issuer processing system210 of card issuer 202 (block 306). As discussed above, customer 208communicates with issuer processing system 210 using any suitablecommunication device, such as a computer 226, a telephone 228, a cellphone 230, a PDA 232, or the like. If a telephone or cell phone is used,issuer processing system 210 may comprise an IVR or voice recognitionunit as discussed above to communicate with customer 208.

After connecting to issuer processing system 210, customer 208 enters acard serial number and/or PIN associated with prepaid card 100 (block308). Issuer processing system 210 then validates the information bychecking prepaid card database 212 (block 310). In one embodiment,issuer processing system 210 uses the card serial number to extract arecord from database 212, and confirm that the entered PIN is valid forthe entered card serial number. In addition, issuer processing system210 validates that prepaid card 100 was activated by a retailer 206;i.e., that the card was not stolen.

In one embodiment, upon validating the card and PIN, issuer processingsystem 210 prompts customer 208 to select a service for which he or shewants to use prepaid card 100, as well as a service provider to providethat service (blocks 312-314). For example, customer 208 may selectprepaid wireless calling services to be provided by AT&T Wireless™,prepaid Internet services to be provided by MCI Worldcom™, prepaid localor long distance services to be provided by Qwest Communications™, orany other combination of service and service provider. After customer208 has selected the service and provider, issuer processing system 210obtains a service ID number associated with the service, provider and/ormonetary amount combination. For example, in one embodiment, a serviceprovider such as Qwest Communications™ may have service ID numbersassociated with each of its service offerings and monetary valuecombinations (e.g., wireless $10, wireless $20, long distance $50, localphone service $25, etc.) In an alternative embodiment, providers mayhave service ID numbers associated with each service offering (e.g.,wireless, Internet, long distance, local phone service, etc.), but nomonetary value associated with the service. In this embodiment, cardissuer 202 communicates the monetary value of the card to serviceprovider 204 based on the preset monetary value of the card, or thevalue assigned to the card by card retailer 206 at the time of purchase.In either case, the service ID numbers are stored in a database.

In one embodiment, service providers 204 may provide the service IDnumbers to card issuer 202 to be stored and accessed in service providerID database 214 located at the card issuer. In accordance with thisembodiment, issuer processing system 210 obtains a service ID numberfrom database 214 (block 316) and then connects to service providerprocessing system 216 for further processing (step 318). The connectionbetween issuer processing system 210 and database 214 is illustrated inFIG. 3 by line 315.

In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, insteadof card issuer 202 storing the provider's service ID numbers locally(e.g., in database 214), card issuer 202 may be configured to access theservice ID numbers stored at service provider 204, for example inservice provider database 218 (illustrated as block 318). In accordancewith this aspect of the present invention, issuer processing system 210accesses database 218, for example through the provider processingsystem 216. The connection between issuer processing system 210 anddatabase 218 is illustrated in FIG. 3 by line 317. If this particularembodiment is used, the connection between card issuer 202 and serviceprovider 204 can be maintained for further processing (block 318).

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, to use a prepaid credit forany given service, a customer typically has an account with a serviceprovider for a particular service or establishes an account prior tousing the prepaid card. For example, for wireless service, a customerneeds a wireless phone (cellular, PCS, GSM, etc.) to make calls.Typically, the customer will purchase or be given a phone for use withone or more service providers. At the time the customer receives thephone, the customer typically establishes an account with the one ormore service providers with which the phone can be used. The same alsoholds true for other telecommunication services. Internet, local phone,and long distance service providers all require customers to establishaccounts before they will provide service. In one embodiment, a customerestablishes an account with a service provider by contacting the serviceprovider directly. In another embodiment, the system of the presentinvention can be used to assist a customer in establishing an accountwith a service provider for a particular service.

If a customer 208 has an established account for the service/serviceprovider selected in block 312, customer 208 is prompted to enteradditional information, such as customer account information (block320). In one embodiment, issuer processing system 210 at issuer 202prompts customer 208 to enter the information, and then passes theinformation to provider processing system 216 at service provider 204.In accordance with this embodiment, issuer processing system 210receives account information from customer 208, establishes a connectionwith service provider 204, and then passes the account information toservice provider 204, along with the service ID associated with theselected service, service provider and monetary amount (block 322). Uponreceiving the account and service ID information from card issuer 202,provider processing system 216 validates the information by accessingservice provider ID database 218 and customer account database 220. Ifthe customer account and service ID information is valid, providerprocessing system 216 at service provider 204 fulfills the customer'sservice account with the monetary value of the prepaid credit purchasedby the customer. Provider processing system 216 then informs issuerprocessing system 210 at card issuer 202 that the customer's account wascredited. Issuer processing system 210, in turn, notifies the customer.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, instead ofissuer processing system 210 at issuer 202 connecting to providerprocessing system 216 after it obtains the customer's accountinformation, issuer processing system 210 may connect to providerprocessing system 216 before customer account information is obtained.In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, issuer processingsystem 210 passes account the information from customer 208 to serviceprovider 204 via the telecommunication connection. For example, issuerprocessing system 210 may receive account information and send itdirectly to service provider 204, or issuer processing system 210 mayestablish a 3-way call with provider processing system 216 at serviceprovider 204 and customer 208. With a 3-way call, either issuerprocessing system 210 or provider processing system 216 may beconfigured to prompt customer 208 to enter account information. Ineither case, the account information, along with the service ID ispassed to provider processing system 216 for processing as discussedabove. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the specificconfiguration and method by which account and service ID information ispassed from card issuer 202 to service provider 204 is not important, solong as the information arrives at the service provider, is validated,and the customer account is fulfilled.

If customer 208 purchases a prepaid card 100, but does not have anaccount established with a service provider, customer 208 is informed ofthat fact when service provider 204 attempts to validate the customeraccount information. If this occurs, customer 208 is instructed toset-up an account by contacting provider 204 directly or by workingthrough a customer service agent at issuer 202. Alternatively, issuerprocessing system 210 may be configured to establish service provideraccounts, or issuer processing system 210 may connect customer 208 toprovider processing system 216, so that it can establish the account.The particular process of how an account is established is notimportant. Once the account is established, however, customer 208 canuse the system of the present invention to implement the prepaid credit.

As illustrated in FIG. 3., if at any step during the prepaid cardvalidation process, a customer has a problem or would like to speak witha customer service agent, the customer can press a predetermined key(such as “0”) (block 326) and the customer is transferred to a customerservice agent (block 328). In addition, all other IVR and computingsystem functionality may be incorporated into the system of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system and network 400 for fulfilling a prepaidcredit according to another embodiment of the present invention. Asdescribed in detail above, a prepaid credit may comprise a prepaid card,such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1. In addition, prepaid credit maytake one of a variety of other forms, including for example, a virtualcard, an insert sold with a telecommunications device, for instance awireless phone, or a paper receipt. According to one embodiment, issuer202 is in communication with provider 204 and customer 208. It isassumed that customer 208 already has purchased or otherwise obtained anactivated prepaid credit, perhaps using one of the methods describedabove. After obtaining the prepaid credit, customer 208 must contactissuer 202 to fulfill the credit, a process that will be described byreference to FIGS. 5 and 6. As described above, customer 208 maycommunicate with issuer 202 through a variety of methods.

Also as described above, issuer 202 may be an entity responsible forprinting and distributing prepaid cards 100. Alternatively, issuer 202may be a manufacturer, distributor or retailer of telecommunicationsdevices or any other entity responsible for facilitating the fulfillmentof prepaid credits. In the present embodiment, issuer 202 comprisesissuer processing system 210, described in detail above. In addition,issuer 202 may include prepaid card database 212, service provideridentification database 214, customer database 404 and/or crossreference database 406. The functions of each of those databases inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention will be described indetail below.

Issuer 202 is in communication with service provider 204, whichcomprises a provider processing system 216, as described above Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such communication may take avariety of forms, including host-to-host transactions between issuerprocessing system 210 and provider processing system 216; host-to-hosttransactions between issuer processing system 210 and atelecommunications switch (not shown) operated by service provider 204;other forms of electronic communication, including, for example thetransfer of extensible markup language (“XML”) files or electronic mail;facsimile communication; and telephone communication between employeesof issuer 202 and service provider 204, respectively.

As used in this document, the term “host-to-host connection” and“host-to-host transaction” mean any direct or indirect communication,established by any suitable method familiar to those skilled in the art,between issuer processing system 210 and any telecommunications orcomputer system operated by provider 204 or a third party, includingwithout limitation, mainframe computers, minicomputers, personalcomputers, telecommunications switches, and any other component of anintelligent network (“IN”).

In some embodiments, service provider 204 also might comprise a serviceprovider identification database 218 and customer account database 220,each associated with provider processing system 216. The functions ofeach of those databases in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention will be described in detail below.

FIGS. 5 and 6 together illustrate one embodiment for fulfilling aprepaid credit for telephone service according to one embodiment of theinvention. The illustrated embodiment is particularly advantageous withrespect to prepaid wireless phone service. Referring to FIG. 5, a flowchart 500 illustrating one embodiment for establishing aprovider-specific identifier (“identifier”) will be described. As usedherein, a provider-specific identifier may be any string of charactersby which a service provider 204 may identify a customer account or aservice associated with such an account. In one embodiment, theidentifier will be specific to a particular service provider 204, sothat issuer 202 may identify the appropriate provider for a transactionby referencing the identifier, as described in detail below. In certainembodiments the identifier is the telephone number associated withcustomer account. According to one embodiment, after customer 208 hasobtained a prepaid credit, customer contacts issuer 202, and inparticular, issuer processing system 210 (block 502) to begin thefulfillment process. As described above, such contact may be conductedthrough one of a variety of methods; in some embodiments, customer 208contacts issuer 202 using a telephone, either a traditional telephone228 or a wireless phone 230, and issuer processing system 210 furthercomprises an IVR. In one embodiment, customer 208 may contact issuer 202by entering a preconfigured string on a wireless phone. For purposes ofthis document, the term “preconfigured string” means a specific seriesof buttons on the wireless phone preprogrammed by a wireless carrier,using methods known to those skilled in the art, that when pressed inthe proper order will connect customer 208 to issuer 210, including forexample “star” and “pound” numbers like “*729,” which corresponds to theletters “PAY.”

Upon initiating the contact, customer 208 is prompted by issuerprocessing system 210 to enter a passcode, which identifies the creditand confirms the right of customer 208 to use the prepaid credit (block504). A passcode is any string of characters that enables issuer 202 toidentify and/or validate the prepaid credit, and it may comprise aserial number and/or PIN, both of which are described in detail above.Those skilled in the art will recognize that entry of the passcode maybe accomplished through a variety of methods. For instance, in oneembodiment, entry may be accomplished by pressing the numeric keys onthe keypad of the wireless telephone 230 or telephone 228 used tocontact issuer processing system 210. Alternatively, entry may beaccomplished by customer 208 speaking the individual characters of thepasscode; the IVR of issuer processing system 210 can convert the spokencharacters into data. If computer 226 or PDA 232 is used to contactissuer processing system 210, entry may be made using the data inputfacilities of those devices. In one embodiment, issuer processing system210 echos the entered characters to customer 208 to confirm the accuracyof the entry.

Issuer processing system 210 validates the entered passcode (block 506),for example, by comparing the passcode to values stored in prepaid carddatabase 212. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other methodsof validation are possible as well, for instance, processing the enteredpasscode with a mathematical algorithm and examining the result todetermine whether the entered values are valid. As described above,validation also might include determining whether the prepaid credit wasactivated by the retailer at the time of purchase, for example toprevent the unauthorized use of stolen credits, and/or determiningwhether the credit already has been fulfilled, to prevent multiple usesof the same credit.

In one embodiment, issuer processing system 210 obtains the automaticnumber identification (“ANI”) of the phone used by customer 208 tocontact issuer processing system 210 (block 508). Those skilled in theart will recognize that there are a variety of commercially-availablemethods to obtain the ANI of a calling phone. Upon acquiring the ANI,issuer processing system 210 searches customer database 404 for recordsmatching the ANI (block 510). If no record matches the ANI of thecustomer's phone, issuer processing system 210 asks customer 208 whethercustomer 208 is calling from the phone associated with the prepaidaccount to be fulfilled (block 512). If customer 208 is not calling fromthe phone associated with the account to be fulfilled, issuer processingsystem 210 prompts customer 208 to enter the identifier of the accountfor which prepaid fulfillment is desired. In one embodiment, theidentifier may be the mobile identification number (“MIN”) of thewireless phone associated with the account. In another embodiment, theprepaid account to be fulfilled might not be affiliated with a wirelessphone but might instead be a prepaid long distance account associatedwith a traditional telephone line, as disclosed in commonly-assignedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/565,311, entitled “PREPAID LONGDISTANCE CALL SYSTEM AND METHOD” and filed May 4, 2000, the completedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, in which theidentifier might be the telephone number associated with the prepaidlong distance account to be fulfilled. Alternatively, the identifier canbe a unique string of text and/or numbers assigned by provider 204 toidentify the customer account.

Once customer 208 enters the MIN (block 514), issuer processing system210 searches customer database 404 for a record matching the entered MIN(block 516). If no record exists, issuer processing system may create arecord in customer database 404 comprising the entered MIN (block 518).Likewise, if customer 208 indicates that he or she is calling from thewireless phone associated with the prepaid account to be fulfilled andissuer processing system 210 fails to find a corresponding customerdatabase record, issuer processing system 210 creates a record incustomer database 404 comprising the ANI of customer's phone (block518). In some embodiments, if a new customer database record is created,issuer processing system 210 prompts customer 208 to enter additionalidentifying information (e.g. name, address, etc.) and adds thatinformation to the new record.

Once issuer processing system 210 has obtained the ANI or MIN (or otheridentifier) associated with the prepaid account to be fulfilled, itconfirms the identifier (block 520), for example by repeating theobtained value to customer 208 and allowing customer 208 to confirm theobtained value (for example, by pressing “1” on the phone keypad inresponse to a prompt from issuer processing system 210). Thus, in someembodiments, the identifier is the telephone number associated with theaccount to be fulfilled.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flowchart 600 illustrates the remainder ofthe fulfillment process according to one embodiment of the invention.After obtaining the identifier, issuer processing system 210 checks thecustomer database information associated with the identifier for anyrelated fulfillment history (block 602). If customer 208 is a repeatcustomer (i.e., has conducted one or more fulfillment transactions inthe past), the customer database information might contain a fulfillmenthistory for the customer. If the customer is a repeat customer, issuerprocessing system 210 obtains from the customer database information orfulfillment history (if available) the most recent service provider 204associated with customer's 208 account (block 604). In some embodiments,the fulfillment history also includes details about the specific methodof fulfillment; for example, the fulfillment history might include anotation that the account was fulfilled last time via a host-to-hosttransaction, or via an operator call to provider 204. In one suchembodiment, issuer processing system 210 uses such details automaticallyto select the fulfillment method for the current transaction. In otherembodiments, if the fulfillment history includes more than one method offulfillment, issuer processing system 210 selects the most recent or themost efficient fulfillment method from among the methods in thefulfillment history. In still other embodiments, if the fulfillmenthistory indicates that only relatively inefficient fulfillment methodshave been used to fulfill customer's 208 account in the past, issuerprocessing system 210 will ignore the fulfillment history and attempt tocomplete the fulfillment transaction using a more efficient method.

In some embodiments, if the customer database information comprising theidentifier contains no fulfillment history, issuer processing system 210searches cross-reference database system 406 for a record containing theidentifier (block 606). Although, illustrated as a single database forease of reference, cross-reference database system 406 can be anydatabase implementation that allows issuer 202 to determine whethercustomer 208 is a subscriber of a particular service provider 204. Forinstance, cross reference database system 406 may be a databasemaintained by issuer 202 containing customer records for a variety ofdifferent providers 204. Alternatively, cross-reference database system406 may be a plurality of databases containing the subscribers ofindividual providers 204. Those skilled in the art will recognize that avariety of other database implementations also will accomplish thisfunction.

In one embodiment, if no records containing the provider-specificidentifier are found in cross-reference database system 406, issuerprocessing system 210 queries providers 204 directly (block 608). Suchqueries may be performed in parallel across the platforms of severalproviders 204 simultaneously or may be performed sequentially, with eachprovider 204 queried in turn. Those skilled in the art are familiar withthe wide variety of multi-source search algorithms that have beendeveloped.

The query of an individual provider 204 may be accomplished by any ofseveral methods. For instance, in one embodiment, issuer processingsystem 210 queries provider processing system 216 whether a particularidentifier is associated with a subscriber account with that provider204. The query may be performed through any of a variety of electroniccommunications, including submission of an SQL query, transfer and/orparsing of XML files or electronic messages, and the like; moreover,such communications may be transmitted over the Internet, throughproprietary networks, or via other means familiar to those skilled inthe art. The method of performing the query is unimportant as long asboth issuer 202 and provider 204 understand the query and the response.

Provider processing system 216 responds to the query, either bysearching its own customer account database 220 or through some othermeans. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, for example, thatwireless phone service providers employ a variety of methods, bothindustry-standard and proprietary, to determine whether a given MIN isserved by a particular provider. The method by which service provider204 determines whether customer 208 is a subscriber of that serviceprovider 204 is immaterial to the scope of this invention, as long asservice provider 204 responds to issuer processing system's query.

In one aspect of the invention, service provider 204 allows issuerprocessing system 210 directly to access service provider's 204telecommunications switch (not shown), allowing issuer processing system210 to establish a host-to-host connection with the switch. Using thehost-to-host connection, issuer processing system 210 directly may querythe switch to determine whether the switch recognizes theprovider-specific identifier. If the switch does acknowledge theprovider-specific identifier, issuer processing system 210 determinesthat customer 208 is a subscriber of service provider 204 operating thatswitch.

In other embodiments, the query involves human operators. For instance,in one embodiment, an employee of issuer 202 calls an operator atservice provider 204 and asks whether the provider-specific identifieris affiliated with service provider's 204 system. Alternatively, anemployee of issuer 202 might perform the electronic query describedabove.

If, however, neither a search of the cross-reference database 406 nor aquery of service providers reveals the appropriate service provider 204for a given identifier, issuer processing system 210 queries customer208 to select the proper service provider 204. In one embodiment,customer 208 may select the appropriate service provider 204 from a menuof available service providers (block 610). For instance, issuerprocessing system 210 may prompt customer 208 to “press ‘1’ if yourwireless provider is Qwest Wireless™, press ‘2’ if your wirelessprovider is AT&T Wireless™, press ‘3’ if your wireless provider isVerizon Wireless™, or press ‘0’ if did not hear the name of yourwireless provider.” As discussed in detail above, customer 208 may pressa predefined escape key (for instance, “0”) at any time during thefulfillment transaction to speak with an operator. If customer 208presses the escape key at this point, an operator may assist customer208 in choosing the proper service provider 204.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are other methods ofprompting customer 208 to provide the name of the proper provider 204.For instance, issuer processing system 210 might prompt customer 208 toinput the first few letters of service provider's name, using either thetelephone keypad or any other data input method supported by the mode ofcommunication between customer 208 and provider 202, as discussed above.Alternatively, issuer processing system 210 might prompt customer 208 tospeak the name of the appropriate service provider 204. The IVRassociated with issuer processing system 210 would then translate thecustomer's spoken response to data for interpretation by issuerprocessing system 210.

In certain embodiments, regardless of the method by which the query isperformed, if a particular service provider 204 acknowledges that theidentifier corresponds to a subscriber account on its system (block608), or alternatively, if customer 208 selects the proper provider 204(block 610), issuer processing system 216 adds a record tocross-reference database system 406 linking the identifier with thatparticular service provider (block 612). In this way, if the samecustomer 208 initiates another fulfillment transaction in the future,issuer processing system 210 need not repeat the query process.Similarly, in some embodiments, if the appropriate service provider 204for a particular identifier is found, either thorough a search ofcross-reference database system 406 (block 606), through a query ofprovider platforms (block 608) or by customer selection (block 610),information about the service provider is added to the fulfillmenthistory in the customer database record comprising with that identifier(block 614), so that future fulfillment requests for that customer 208may be processed without having to search for the proper serviceprovider 204.

After the appropriate service provider 204 has been selected, eitherthrough checking the fulfillment history of the customer database recordfor the provider-specific identifier (block 604), by look-up in thecross-reference database system (block 606), through querying serviceproviders 204 (block 608), by customer selection (block 610) or throughany other means, issuer processing system 210 sets the selected serviceprovider as provider 204 for the fulfillment transaction (block 616). Asdiscussed above in the context of setting the provider-specificidentifier (block 522), setting the service provider may be accomplishedimplicitly or explicitly. However accomplished, setting the serviceprovider allows issuer processing system 210 to proceed with thefulfillment transaction with the proper provider 204.

According to one embodiment, issuer processing system 210 thenimplements any specific service provider rules (block 618). Serviceprovider rules can be any additional procedure requested or required byprovider 204 as part of the fulfillment transaction. For instance, someproviders 204 might require customer 208 to provide an additional,provider-specific PIN prior to allowing the fulfillment transaction.Implementing the service provider rules may force customer 208 to enterthe correct PIN, which optionally could be verified by an additionalcommunication between issuer processing system 210 and provider 204before allowing the fulfillment transaction to proceed. Other providersmight associate a particular identifier with more than one customeraccount (for instance, a prepaid wireless account and a prepaid longdistance account); implementing the service provider rules for such aservice provider 204 would allow customer 208 to choose which account tofulfill. Other service provider rules are possible without varying fromthe scope of the invention. Service provider rules may be stored byissuer 202, for instance in service provider identification database214; alternatively, provider 204 can transmit any service provider rulesto issuer 202 as it responds to the query from issuer 202 describedabove or during any other communication between issuer 202 and provider204.

In some embodiments, provider 204 might require branded fulfillment,whereby provider 204 itself performs the fulfillment transaction, forexample, in order to maintain a consistent public presence. In this waya customer of, e.g., AT&T Wireless™ can speak directly with an AT&Toperator during the fulfillment process. If provider 204 requiresbranded fulfillment (block 620), issuer processing system 210 transfersthe call to provider 204 (block 622), which then performs thefulfillment transaction (block 624). In one embodiment, an operator ofservice provider 204 completes the fulfillment manually by adding theprepaid credit to the proper customer account. In another embodiment,service provider 204 implements its own automatic fulfillmentapplication. The method used by provider 204 to complete the fulfillmenttransaction is not important so long as the proper customer account iscredited with the proper amount. After fulfilling customer's 208account, provider 204 transfers the call back to issuer processingsystem 210.

In other embodiments, if provider 204 does not require brandedfulfillment, issuer processing system 210 checks whether provider 204supports host-to-host fulfillment (block 628). In one embodiment, issuer202 tracks whether provider supports host-to-host fulfillment, perhapsby storing such information in service provider identification database214. In another embodiment, issuer 202 does not maintain suchinformation but instead queries provider 204 on a case-by-case basis,perhaps by attempting to establish a host-to-host connection to provider204 or its telecommunications switch. If provider 204 does not supporthost-to-host fulfillment, issuer processing system 210 schedules thetransaction for off-line fulfillment (block 630). As used herein, theterm “off-line fulfillment” means any fulfillment method that is notcompleted automatically during the communication with the customer 208.

According to one embodiment, an employee of issuer 202 completes theoff-line fulfillment transaction by initiating a communication withservice provider 204 to complete the fulfillment transaction. Forinstance, the employee might call an operator of provider 204 to relaythe details of the transaction (i.e., the identifier, the amount of thecredit, and the customer response to any service provider rules,discussed above), optionally obtaining a confirmation number for thetransaction. Provider 204 is then responsible for adding the properamount of credit to the customer's prepaid account and billing issuer202 for the amount of the credit. Alternatively, the employee mightcommunicate the relevant information to provider 204 via other means,such as completing a form on a web site of provider 204, sending anelectronic message comprising the relevant information to provider 204,faxing the relevant information to provider 204 or leaving a voicemessage with service provider 204. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that many other modes of communication also would accomplishthis function without varying from the scope of the invention.

In other embodiments of the invention, off-line fulfillment occursautomatically. For instance, issuer processing system 210 might sendindividual fulfillment requests electronically to service provider 204,using any of the methods described above. Alternatively, issuerprocessing system 210 might compile fulfillment requests for aparticular provider 204 into batch data files in a specified format andsend such files to the particular provider 204 periodically, forinstance on an hourly or daily basis. Provider 204 then may fulfill therequests using any suitable method and, in some embodiments, may returna confirmation to issuer 202 that the requests were fulfilled.

If provider 204 does support host-to-host fulfillment, issuer processingsystem 210 performs a host-to-host fulfillment (block 632) by initiatinga host-to-host connection with service provider 204, or morespecifically, with a telecommunications switch operated by serviceprovider 204. After establishing the host-to-host connection, issuerprocessing system 210 updates the amount of prepaid credit available tocustomer for services provided by the telecommunications switch. Othermethods of host-to-host fulfillment are possible as well, depending onthe configurations of issuer 202 and provider 204.

Upon either scheduling the off-line fulfillment (630) or fulfilling viahost-to-host transaction (block 632), issuer processing system 210advises customer 208 of the initiation of the fulfillment transaction.In some embodiments, issuer processing system 210 advises customer 208of the amount of credit applied to customer's prepaid account and/or thequantity of services (e.g. the number of wireless or long distanceminutes) added to the prepaid account. In other embodiments, for examplewhen an off-line fulfillment transaction has been scheduled, issuerprocessing system 210 advises customer 208 of when customer 208 canexpect the fulfillment transaction to be completed, such that theprepaid credit will be available for customer's use. For instance, inone embodiment, issuer processing system 210 notifies customer 208 thatthe credit will be available on a certain date (possibly the currentdate) and at a certain time. In another embodiment, issuer processingsystem 210 notifies customer 208 that the credit will be available afterthe elapse of a specified time period (for instance, four hours from thetime of advisement). In still other embodiments, issuer processingsystem 210 advises customer 208 of both the amount of credit applied andthe time when the credit should be available. In certain embodiments,for instance, when customer 208 contacts issuer 204 using a telephone,issuer processing system 210 advises customer 208 via spoken (orvoice-synthesized) message over the telephone. In other embodiments, theadvisement may be in the form of an electronic mail message, web page,facsimile transmission, or the like.

Some embodiments include the optional feature of collecting theelectronic mail address of customer 208 (block 636). This feature allowsissuer 202 to offer targeted mailings in the future. For instance,issuer 202 could, in the future, send an electronic mail announcement tocustomer 208 about a special discount on prepaid telecommunicationservices. In addition, if desired, issuer 202 can forward customer'selectronic mail address to provider 204 to allow provider 204 to sendsimilar targeted electronic mailings to customer 208. Issuer might alsoforward the electronic mail address to third parties interested insending targeted mailings to customer 208. In some embodiments, customer208 is allowed to choose which parties receive customer's electronicmail address, while in other embodiments, customer 208 is given thechoice not to provide an electronic mail address at all. Depending onthe mode of communication used by customer 208 to contact issuer 204,any of the above-described forms of data entry may be used by customer208 to provide the electronic mail address.

In some embodiments, issuer processing system 210 optionally transmitsbranding messages to customer 208. Depending on the embodiment, brandingmessages may take many forms. Some branding messages may be interactive,with optional or required input from customer 208. Some embodimentsinclude branding messages that are specific to issuer 202 or serviceprovider 204. For instance, an issuer-specific branding message might be“Thank you for using <issuer name> for your prepaid <service> needs.”Alternatively, a provider-specific branding message could contain atagline, jingle or logo associated with provider 204. In someembodiments, issuer 202 allows provider 204 to specify and/or providethe content of the provider-specific branding message.

The branding message might also be specific to the passcode associatedwith the credit. For instance, issuer 204 might distribute credits witha predefined single serial number or set of serial numbers to aparticular retailer, for example 7-Eleven™, and might even brand thecards with the name of that retailer. Then, when customer fulfills acredit purchased from that retailer, the serial number-specific brandingmessage might say “Thank you for purchasing 7-Eleven™ prepaidtelecommunication services. Press ‘1’ if you would like to receive ane-coupon for a free Slurpee™ on your next visit to 7-Eleven™.”

As with the advisement (block 634) described above, depending on themode of communication between customer 208 and issuer 204, the brandingmessage may be transmitted through any of a variety of means includingover the telephone, via facsimile or electronic mail, or by web page. Insome embodiments, issuer processing system 210 plays pre-recordedbranding messages over the telephone to customer 208. In one suchembodiment, customer 208 may respond to the message (for example, askfor more information about the subject of the message, or indicate thata printed mailing would be desired) by pressing a predefined key on thetelephone keypad. The customer might also provide additional necessaryinformation (for example, the customer's address or credit card number)in the same fashion.

Finally, issuer processing system 210 terminates the communication withcustomer 208. In some embodiments, termination consists of releasingcustomer's 208 telephone call (block 640). In other embodiments,termination might involve displaying a web page showing the details ofthe transaction. Depending on the mode of communication between customer208 and issuer 204, other methods of termination known to those skilledin the art are possible as well without varying from the scope of theinvention. In certain embodiments, termination may not be necessary.

In some embodiments, especially embodiments involving off-linefulfillment, issuer processing system 210 notifies customer 208 when thefulfillment transaction between issuer 202 and provider 204 has beencompleted (block 642). According to one such embodiment, if thefulfillment transaction with service provider 204 successfully hascompleted, the notification indicates the date and/or time offulfillment. The notification optionally includes an indication of thecredit added to the customer account or the new credit balance, eithermonetary or in some other denomination (e.g., additional prepaidwireless minutes), in the account. The notification might also include aconfirmation number, especially if provider 204 had sent a confirmationnumber to issuer 202 upon completing the fulfillment transaction. Thenotification message may be sent to customer 208 via any of the severalmethods described above. In a certain aspect, the notification is sentto customer's 208 wireless phone, using a short messaging system (“SMS”)message, a convention known to those skilled in the art.

If the transaction was unsuccessful, the notification may indicate thatthe transaction did not successfully complete and that customer 208should contact issuer 202 to resolve any problems. Optionally, thefailure notification can include a description of any specific problemencountered during the attempted fulfillment transaction. In someimplementations, the notification asks customer 208 to contact issuer202 within a specified time frame, issuer 202 attempts to contactcustomer 208, perhaps via telephone call from a live operator.

Optionally, issuer processing system 202 can save information about thefulfillment transaction, whether successful or unsuccessful. Thisinformation can be added to the appropriate customer database record incustomer database 404 by, for instance, being appended to thefulfillment history (described above) In addition, the information canalso be stored in prepaid card database 212, if desired.

In conclusion, the present invention provides novel systems and methodsfor implementing and fulfilling prepaid telecommunication servicescredits. While detailed descriptions of one or more embodiments of theinvention have been given above, various alternatives, modifications,and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art withoutvarying from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the abovedescription should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention,which is defined by the appended claims.

1. In a relationship where a universal prepaid telecommunicationservices card issuer is a different entity than a telecommunicationservices provider, a method for implementing a universal prepaidtelecommunication services card (prepaid card), which can be used as aprepaid credit for a plurality of services providers providing one ormore telecommunication services, comprising: a card issuer providing aprepaid card having an identification number associated with the prepaidcard; the card issuer activating the prepaid card upon receipt of anactivation request from a prepaid card seller; the card issuer receivinga request from a user to use the prepaid card; the card issuer receivingfrom the user the identification number associated with the prepaid cardand validating the identification number; the card issuer receiving fromthe user a service request for a particular service provider, whereinthe service request comprises information about an account with theservice provider; and the card issuer communicating the service requestto the particular service provider.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the identification number comprises a card serial number, a cardpersonal identification number (PIN), or a combination of a serialnumber and a PIN.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theprepaid card comprises a magnetic strip or a microchip, and wherein thestep of the card issuer activating the prepaid card further comprises: aPOS terminal reading card information from the magnetic strip or themicrochip; the POS terminal transmitting the card information to thecard issuer; and the card issuer activating the prepaid card based onthe received card information.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the step of the card issuer activating the prepaid card furthercomprises: the card seller calling the card issuer and communicatingcard information to the card issuer; and the card issuer activating theprepaid card based on the received card information.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the step of the card issuer receiving arequest from a user to use the prepaid card further comprises: the usercontacting the card issuer using a telephone, a wireless phone, acomputer, or a personal digital assistant.
 6. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the step of the card issuer validating theidentification number further comprises: validating that the prepaidcard was activated; and validating that the identification number isvalid.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of the cardissuer receiving a service request for a particular service providerfurther comprises: receiving from the user a service for which theprepaid card will be used; and receiving from the user a serviceprovider that is to provide the service.
 8. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the step of the card issuer communicating the servicerequest to the particular service provider further comprises: the cardissuer obtaining a service ID number associated with the selectedservice and service provider; the card issuer obtaining user accountinformation from the user; and the card issuer communicating the useraccount information and the service ID number to the selected serviceprovider.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising: theservice provider validating and processing the service request by: theservice provider validating that the service ID number and the useraccount information; and the service provider crediting the user'saccount with a value of the prepaid card.
 10. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the step of the card issuer communicating the servicerequest to the particular service provider further comprises: the cardissuer obtaining a service ID number associated with the selectedservice and service provider; the card issuer connecting to the selectedservice provider; the card issuer obtaining user account informationfrom the user communicating the user account information and the serviceID number to the selected service provider.
 11. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the step of the card issuer communicating the servicerequest to the particular service provider further comprises: the cardissuer obtaining a service ID number associated with the selectedservice and service provider; the card issuer connecting to the selectedservice provider; the service provider obtaining user accountinformation from the user through the connection with the card issuer;and the service provider obtaining the service ID number from the cardissuer.
 12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of a cardissuer providing a prepaid card comprises the card issuer providing aprepaid card having a predetermined value associated therewith.
 13. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of a card issuerproviding a prepaid card comprises the card issuer providing a prepaidcard with no value associated therewith, and wherein the methodcomprises: the card seller assigning a value to the prepaid card whenthe card seller sells the prepaid card to the user.
 14. In arelationship where a universal prepaid telecommunication services cardissuer is a different entity than a telecommunication services provider,a system for implementing a universal prepaid telecommunication servicescard (prepaid card), which can be used as a prepaid card for a pluralityof services providers providing one or more telecommunication services,comprising: a processing system; a prepaid card identification databasein communication with the processing system; and one or more datacommunication devices in communication with the processing system;wherein upon the sale or distribution of a prepaid card: the processingsystem receives a prepaid card activation request from a card seller viathe one or more data communications devices, and the processing systemactivates the prepaid card by interfacing with the prepaid cardidentification database; the processing system receives a request from auser to use the prepaid card via the one or more communication devices;the processing system, through the one or more communication devices,obtains a prepaid card identification number associated with the prepaidcard and validates the identification number; the processing systemobtains from the user a service request for a particular serviceprovider; and using the one or more communication devices, theprocessing system communicates the service request to the particularservice provider.
 15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the oneor more data communication devices comprises a point-of-sale (POS)terminal configured to read card information from a magnetic strip, barcode or microchip on the prepaid card.
 16. In a relationship where auniversal prepaid telecommunication services card issuer is a differententity than a telecommunication services provider, a method forimplementing a universal prepaid telecommunication services card(prepaid card), which can be used as a prepaid card for a plurality ofservice providers providing one or more telecommunication services,comprising: a card issuer providing a prepaid card having anidentification number associated with the prepaid card; the card issueractivating the prepaid card upon receipt of an activation request from aprepaid card seller; the card issuer receiving a request from a user touse the prepaid card; the card issuer receiving from the user theidentification number associated with the prepaid card and validatingthe identification number; receiving from the user a service request fora particular service provider; and the card issuer providing to the usera service provider identification number and contact information for theparticular service provider, whereby the user uses the contactinformation and service provider identification number to contact theservice provider and receive account credit associated with the prepaidcard.
 17. In a relationship where a universal prepaid telecommunicationservices card issuer is a different entity than a telecommunicationservices provider, a method for implementing a universal prepaidtelecommunication services card (prepaid card), which can be used as aprepaid card for a plurality of services providers providing one or moretelecommunication services, comprising: a card issuer providing aprepaid card having an identification number associated with the prepaidcard; the card issuer activating the prepaid card upon receipt of anactivation request from a prepaid card seller; the card issuer receivinga request from a user to use the prepaid card; the card issuer receivingfrom the user the identification number associated with the prepaidcard; the card issuer validating the identification number; the cardissuer receiving from the user a service request for a particularservice provider; and the card issuer communicating the service requestto the particular service provider.
 18. The method as recited in claim17, wherein the card issuer receives the service request beforevalidating the identification number.
 19. The method as recited in claim17, wherein the card issuer receives the service request beforereceiving the identification number.
 20. In a relationship where auniversal prepaid telecommunication services card issuer is a differententity than a telecommunication services provider, a method forimplementing a universal prepaid telecommunication services card(prepaid card), which can be used as a prepaid card for a plurality ofservice providers providing one or more telecommunication services,comprising: a card issuer providing a prepaid card having anidentification number associated with the prepaid card; the card issueractivating the prepaid card upon receipt of an activation request from aprepaid card seller; the card issuer receiving a request from a user touse the prepaid card; the card issuer receiving from the user theidentification number associated with the prepaid card; the card issuervalidating the identification number; the card issuer receiving from theuser a service request for a particular service provider; and the cardissuer providing to the user a service provider identification numberand contact information for the particular service provider, whereby theuser uses the contact information and service provider identificationnumber to contact the service provider and receive account creditassociated with the prepaid card.